no, they arent. led zep and hendrix are better than anything in the shoegaze department.

I strongly consider that to be incorrect. I think Led Zep and Jimi Hendrix are unbelievably overrated. Jimi because he's dead and also because was the first person ever to play the electric guitar in that way. But I've heard shoegaze bands that I consider to be miles ahead of both of them. There's no point in even trying to compare them anyway

Wind-up thread? Led Zeppelin borrowed heavily from the blues. I think some people's exposure to the blues was through Led Zep. And maybe that's why some people carry a torch for them. I liked them the first time I heard them, and they still do have a couple good songs.

Both Hendrix and Zep kinda seem a bit wanky to me anymore.

I like the stuff people label as "shoegaze" even though it's a crap label for a genre.

You gotta realize that some random journalist made this term up for music that was a product of a certain location at a certain moment in time.
While it is bullshit.. Your question is really dumb
As far as Led Zeppelin goes, I'll never get over how many songs they ripped off to like them that much but, ya know I appreatiate what they did for hard rock and yadda yadda

"The term "shitgaze" was coined by Kevin De Broux of Pink Reason (and formerly of Psychedelic Horseshit) when he told Matt Whitehurst of Psychedelic Horseshit that his music wasn't like the shoegaze that Whitehurst listened to, but rather, it was "shitgaze". Whitehurst put the term on his Myspace page and it stuck[1], even growing to encompass bands from different regions that didn't have anything to do with the original scene from which the genre originated."